Bell's honeysuckle
(Lonicera x bella)
General description:
Dense, multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub that grows up to 20’ tall. Young stems are slightly hairy and light brown while older stems may have shaggy, peeling bark and are often hollow between the nodes. The best way to identify the hybrids is to learn the characteristics of the parents, then look for intermediate characteristics. Bell’s honeysuckle is generally taller than morrow’s honeysuckle and tatarian honeysuckle.
Ecological threat:
- Invades a broad range of habitats, including forest edges, open woods, fens, bogs, lakeshores, roadsides, pastures, and old fields.
- They alter habitats by decreasing light availability, depleting soil moisture and nutrients, and possibly releasing allelopathic chemicals that inhibit growth of other plants.
- Eurasian bush honeysuckles have been widely planted as ornamentals and for wildlife habitat. Commercial propagation continues with many cultivars available from nurseries.
- Can create a “hybrid swarm” by crossing with the parent plants (L. morrowii and L. tatarica).
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